Got Your Back
by Rookblonkorules
Summary: Five times Rip Hunter came through for his team and one time they did for him.


**A/N This is my first Legends fic-I've fallen quite in love with the show and its characters: Ray with his enormous heart, Snart and his sarcasm, Sara and her badassery and, of course, Rip Hunter, who is just amazing in general.**

 **I've wanted to try this type of story format, and this is my first go at it, so I'm a little nervous as to how it turned out.**

 **However, I'm incredibly grateful to my friend, Meritt, who was gracious enough to beta read this for me and point out errors to me. Any mistakes that remain are mine entirely.**

 **Disclaimer: Legends of Tomorrow and all related characters belong to DC comics and the CW.**

* * *

 **1\. Ray**

Ray tugged experimentally at his wrists, which had been, quite efficiently, bound behind his back.

He had to admit the blindfold was a nice touch though.

Made the whole thing more authentic.

"I'm not sure if the blindfold is supposed to be intimidating," he called out, deciding he might as well learn if he was speaking to an empty room, "but points for the effect." He grinned, because he might as well make an attempt at humor while he's at it.

"Keep talking, pretty boy," a voice to his right grunted.

Ray flinched in surprise, not expecting anyone to be that close.

Okay, so he wasn't alone.

Good to know.

"Look," he began, "I don't know why you're keeping me here, but I really don't…"

He was interrupted by something cold and sharp pressing against his throat, effectively silencing him.

Ray Palmer was no fool… no matter how he might sometimes appear.

He knew when to tread carefully.

He swallowed nervously. "Maybe we can talk about this…"

"You tell us what you were doing spying on us," the man with the knife blade hissed. "Who sent you?"

"What?" Ray forced a laugh, which really wasn't easy to do considering his predicament. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Keep telling yourself that," the man said and the knife pressed harder, causing Ray to suck in a breath. "But I think we both know that's not true."

Ray opened his mouth to refute the man's statement, but before he can, the knife is pulled away from his throat and he could feel the man turning away from him.

"What the hell are you…?"

The man's exclamation was cut off by a grunt, followed by a muffled thud as something-or someone- crashed to the floor.

A second of silence passed, during which Ray clenched his fists behind his back, expecting a fist to the face, or worse, a knife to the gut.

Then something shuffled and, "I have to say, Raymond," a familiar accent was suddenly speaking by his side, even as a pair of hands worked to remove the rope, "your talent for getting yourself into this situations is really quite extraordinary."

"Rip!" Ray reached up once his hands were free, tearing the blindfold away from his eyes. His face split this time into a truly genuine grin. "I thought you were…"

"Elsewhere?" Rip finished, glancing over his shoulder. "No, not anymore. Come on rest of the team should have already secured our exit by now."

Ray took one last look at the gangster lying unconscious on the floor before following the captain out.

* * *

 **2\. Kendra**

Rip found Kendra in the engine room.

She'd been working in there with Jax for the better portion of the day, but when Jax had returned alone, mentioning Kendra's desire to be alone for the time being, Rip felt it best that he take a moment to check on her.

He might know a thing or two about grief, not to mention, he wasn't too sure how he felt about having a grieving, _winged_ demigoddess on the _Waverider._

Didn't he also know all too well how quickly grief could change to anger?

Kendra had her back to the door when he entered, and so he paused two steps into the room. Clearing his throat, he spoke softly, "Miss Saunders? Can I speak with you?"

Kendra's shoulders visibly tensed, before she turned to face the captain, a wary expression in place.

She dabbed at her eyes before straightening and giving the captain a watery-and clearly forced-smile.

"Is there something I can do for you, Rip?" she asked, making an attempt to keep her voice light.

"No, actually. I was hoping I could talk to you," he said, giving her a look that he dearly hoped conveyed sympathy. "I heard from Jefferson that you were… having a rough time."

Kendra's face fell and she turned away, looking rather tight-lipped, but Rip reached out, catching her by her upper arm and praying that he wasn't making a grave mistake in doing so.

Really, the last thing he wanted to do here was bring the wrath of a newly awakened hawk warrior down upon himself.

"I lost family to Savage too," he told her softly.

Of course, she already knew that.

They all knew that already.

But he wanted her to see that she wasn't alone in her pain.

Then again, he'd only lost his family to Savage once and, horrific as that was, how much worse was it for Kendra?

Kendra and Carter had been pursued over the course of four thousand years, murdered only to repeat the process over again.

Even if Kendra didn't remember any of her past lives, knowledge like that must weigh heavy on one's soul.

And the loss of Carter was most certainly hitting her hard.

Kendra faced him, pain and understanding in her eyes. "I know," she told him and Rip took a deep breath.

"What I mean is," bloody hell, he was so bad at this, "you're not alone, Kendra. You don't have to…"

He was interrupted by Kendra's arms going around his neck, squeezing tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder.

For a moment, Rip was so startled that his arms remained hanging loose and limp as noodles by his sides.

"Thank you," Kendra told him softly. And finally, slowly, cautiously, Rip brought his hands up to return the hug.

"Of course, Kendra."

* * *

 **3\. Sara**

"Miss Lance!" Rip called.

The young woman ignored him, continuing to march away from him.

Rip clenched his jaw in frustration. "Sara, stop! Listen to me!"

To his surprise, Sara did indeed stop.

She stood where she was, frozen in place, though he could see her body trembling, hands balled into very tight fists.

Then, she spun around, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Sara…" Rip began, a little unsettled to see Sara- _Sara-_ this close to tears.

But maybe he _should_ have been expecting it.

After all, the only other time he'd seen her this close to falling apart had been after…

"I _killed_ that man back there, Rip," Sara ground out.

"Well, as I recall," Rip told her, matter-of-factly. He wasn't going to let this destroy Sara, "you didn't have a choice. It was either him or Dr. Palmer. You chose to save your teammate."

She shook her head, arms wrapping protectively around herself. "No," she said, giving him a sad little smile. "I didn't think. I didn't stop to consider what I was doing. I just did it." She kept her arms crossed and looked Rip in the eyes. "That… animal part of me, that monster… she didn't go away. She's still in me, waiting for me to give her a chance to get out." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "And I did." Her fingers were digging into the flesh of her arms. "I _accepted_ it, Rip. You were wrong about me. I'm still what they made me."

"You were protecting a teammate," Rip countered firmly and Sara bit her bottom lip."If you'd stopped to think, he'd be dead now. And that's something you found unacceptable." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "If that's not humanity, then I'm not sure what is. And I'm sure Dr. Palmer would agree."

"Sara," he told her, when she still didn't look convinced, "don't ever question your humanity again. That's an order."

Sara finally gave him a small smile after that. "Okay, Captain."

* * *

 **4\. Jax**

A sulking Jax was _not_ what Rip had expected- or wanted- to find while stomping back to his quarters. He'd just put up with the rest of the crew's unruly shenanigans for a good hour at his last estimate, so upon seeing the youngest member of his crew lurking in the hallways, he promptly threw up his hands and declared in utter exasperation, "Oh for the love of…! What is it now, Jefferson?"

Jax flinched, looking surprised at his tone. Rip sighed, but couldn't quite bring himself to apologize for taking it. After all, he had his limits, just like anyone else. "Uh, nothing, man, it's nothing," he said, rubbing the back of his neck in a way that suggested it was in no way nothing.

Rip sighed again. "What is it, Jefferson?" he asked, this time opting for a gentler tone.

"What makes you think it's something?" Jax asked, making an attempt at stoicism… one that failed spectacularly.

"Because," Rip pointed out, "you are out _here_ , while everyone else," he jerked his head to indicate the way he from which he had come, "is in _there_ enjoying themselves. You're not that subtle."

Jax looked sheepish. "Yeah, I've been told that before."

"So," Rip continued, "if you want to tell me…" Something dawned on him. "It's Kendra, isn't it?" Now that the idea had occurred to him, it seemed so obvious.

The boy had not done as good a job hiding his crush on their resident demigoddess as he'd thought.

And Ray and Kendra had just… They were together now, weren't they?

Ever since that instance with the Time Pirates.

Oh, yes, he could see what was bothering the boy now.

Unfortunately, that only opened up a whole new world of issues, as Rip Hunter was most definitely not qualified to handle problems of the romantic variety.

Jax, however, seemed keen on denial. "What?" he cheeks flushing slightly. "No. No, no, no, that's not it at all. It's…" he fell short of whatever it was he'd intended to say.

Rip waited expectantly.

"Okay, fine," Jax said, irritated. "It's Kendra. There, you happy?"

"I think," Rip said pointedly, as he wondered how it was exactly that he kept finding himself in these kind of situations, "that maybe the question you should be asking, is whether or not _she's_ happy."

Jax looked up with sudden understanding in his eyes. "Oh," he said, before admitting somewhat uncomfortably. "Yeah, I… guess she is."

For a moment, they both stood there, neither one sure where the conversation was supposed to go next.

Then, Rip clapped Jax consolingly on the back. "Well, there's nothing saying you can't be friends."

"Rip?" A voice interrupted them. An amused Sara stood down the hallway, observing them with raised eyebrows.

"Miss Lance." Rip straightened, smoothing out his coat. "What can I do for you?"

"Everyone's wondering where you guys disappeared to." Sara smirked. "Snart's got a game of monopoly planned."

"Oh no," Jax groaned, and Rip had to agree with him. The last time they'd played any sort of board game, it had ended when Mick had run out of patience, lost his temper, and flung the board across the room.

"Sara…" he pleaded.

Sara lifted her chin firmly, but there was a playful shine to her eyes. "There's no getting out of it."

* * *

 **5\. Snart**

The bullet had only grazed his upper arm-he'd been lucky-but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt like hell.

Snart hissed in pain, keeping a hand pressed over the wound to control the blood flow.

Now all he had to do was make it to the medical bay, patch himself up and do it all without the crew's notice.

As it turned out, such a thing was easier said than done.

"Mr. Snart."

Damn it all to hell.

Snart let out a controlled exhale, taking a moment to collect himself, to seem at ease, before turning around.

"Hunter," he said, a lazy smirk already in place, "what brings you here?"

Rip nodded a head, indicating Snart's clearly injured arm, a decidedly less than pleased look being leveled in his direction. "Gideon informed me of an injury you were attempting to hide," he told him.

Of course it would be the A.I. that ratted him out.

"Yeah, well," Snart said, smoothly, "the last I checked, this was none of your damn business, Hunter."

"I should think," Rip countered, looking sternly at Snart, "that it could be considered my business if one of my _crew members_ was hiding an injury serious enough that they left _blood_ streaked through my ship."

Couldn't exactly argue with him there, Snart decided, but it would be a cold day in hell before he ever admitted that to the captain.

"Let me see it," Rip insisted, reaching for his arm, and Snart took a step back.

"Yeah, I don't think so," he said. "Nice try though."

Not one to be deterred, Rip stood unyielding. "Mr. Snart," he said firmly, "you will either let me see your arm and allow me to assist you in treating yourself, or I will see to it that Gideon plays nothing but jazz for the next week."

Snart refused to be intimidated. "You wouldn't dare."

Rip didn't even blink. "When it comes to the health and wellbeing of my crew," he told him, "I most certainly would dare."

Snart raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You _sure_ you want to do that, Rip? Mick's not really an enemy you want to have," he warned.

Rip frowned at him. "I'll take that risk." He gestured to Snart. "Now are you going to sit down and let Gideon have a look at you or are you going to insist on doing this standing up?"

Snart scowled at him for an extra few seconds, before shrugging his good shoulder. "Fine," he said begrudgingly taking a seat. "But be careful you don't try anything, Captain."

Rip furrowed his brow, a little unsure as to what Snart meant by that last statement, but, then again, one could never be sure with Leonard.

* * *

 **And Last: Rip**

Rip didn't see the punch coming until it had already knocked him flat on his back, which was humiliating enough as it was.

Why did these sort of things always seem to happen to him?

Did he have some sort of sign that read "Punch me" somewhere?

It was starting to feel like there was.

Before he had time to recover, a meaty hand had wrapped around his throat, hefting him high in the air before slamming him back against the wall.

Rip found himself staring into the eyes of a _very_ big, _very_ angry Time Pirate.

"The great Rip Hunter," the man snarled, a sort of manic glee present in his eyes. His fingers tightened around Rip's throat. "You don't look like much. I was expecting you'd be much harder to kill."

To that, Rip had no reply, seeing as he was currently fighting for the ability to breathe.

Rip grasped at the thick wrist, struggling to pry the hand away from his throat.

"Too bad!" Someone flew through the air, knocking the man away from Rip.

Rip caught a flash of blonde hair, a swinging bo staff, before he fell to the ground, struggling to regain his breath as black spots danced in front of his vision.

"Rip? Rip!" A face gradually came into focus.

Rip groaned. "Dr. Palmer?"

Ray's face instantly lit up with relief… and a very bright grin. "Oh, thank goodness. Had me worried for a second there, Rip."

"Ugh," Rip groaned, rubbing his throat. It felt like an elephant had just given him a good squeeze.

"Let me at him!"

Rip became aware of the rest of the team gathering around them, Mick taking huge strides towards the big man Sara was currently occupied with, murder in his eyes.

"Wait a minute, Mick." Leonard held up a hand to stop him, looking very much interested. "Let Sara do her thing. Then you can have your turn."

Mick growled, but, surprisingly, he listened to Len.

Ray slipped his arm over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you back on your feet, Rip," he said, cheerfully, his voice increasing the pounding in Rip's head.

Rip stumbled, and suddenly, Leonard was on his other side. "'All right, Captain. Don't go collapsing on us now."

"I really don't think this is necessary," he muttered. Yes, it felt like a jackhammer had bludgeoned his skull, but that didn't mean he couldn't walk on his own!

"Nonsense," Sara said, smirking at him as she came to stand beside them.

Mick was grumbling something as he took up the rear, but Rip couldn't hear what it was.

In a sense, he was thankful for that.

An unhappy Mick was never one he wanted to be around.

"You said I could have my turn," he growled, directing his complaint at Leonard.

"Yeah, well," Leonard kept a steady pace as he answered, "there's been a slight change of plans. Namely, we're getting the captain back to the ship."

"Where Gideon can take good care of him," Sara added, with a twinkle in her eyes and a grin she directed at Rip.

Really, Rip didn't see what she saw that was so funny in the situation.

"And _then_ ," Snart added, finally directing a glance back at his partner, "we can worry about finding you a Time Pirate to beat up."

Mick grunted again, but this time, it sounded a lot like, "You'd better."

Not for the first time, Rip found himself wondering how exactly it was that he'd ended up with a team like this, but, as Ray started to babble about some project he hoped to start once they were back on the ship, and a particularly sarcastic jab from Leonard, the words sailing cleanly over his head, he realized he wouldn't trade them for the world.

* * *

 **A/N Reactions? I'd love to hear what you think, what was your favorite part, or even who your favorite character is!**

 **Thanks for stopping by!**


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